Leader/Follower Relations at Jezic and Moyse, LLC

The leader/follower relations within the law firm are fairly traditional when it comes to the hierarchy of responsibility and power that you would expect at company like this, so instead I am going to focus on the leader/follower relations between the attorneys and the clients. Most attorneys, regardless of their specific area of practice, will tell you that it is crucial to build a strong relationship with every client. Without a solid relationship, it is difficult to form trust, which in turn makes it difficult for clients to be forthcoming about information and events that are essential for attorneys to know about. It can be tricky, especially with immigration clients who may be undocumented or have experienced very traumatic events in their home countries, to build a relationship in which the client feels comfortable disclosing the details which can be so important to their case. This is where I notice the mask of kinship which Keegan references in his ‘Mask of Command’ theory plays an important role. The client is paying the attorney, and usually an exchange of money dictates that the one paying the money is in charge. In this case, the opposite is the case, as the client must place their trust in the attorney as they themselves aren’t knowledgeable about how to navigate the law. The attorney must then walk a fine line between listening to what the client wants and making judgment decisions, especially while in court. This kinship allows for a greater latitude of acceptance by the client, because if they trust the attorney on a basic level, they will trust that they will make the right decisions and can be more willing to allow the attorney to deviate from what the client’s original wishes may have been. This latitude of acceptance may also stem from the imperative of sanction that is implicit in most immigration cases, especially those involving deportation proceedings. Most of the time, the attorney doesn’t even need to reference the impending sanction; as there is always an implicit knowledge by both the attorney and client of the potential consequences of not succeeding in their case.